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US military fighter jets shot down the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Saturday.

The operation ended a remarkable public drama that prompted a diplomatic fallout between Washington and Beijing, as the American public tracked the balloon from Montana all the way to the Carolinas.

President Joe Biden approved the downing of the balloon, Austin said in a statement, which a US official previously told CNN was a plan that was presented and supported by US military leaders.

Recovery efforts began shortly after the balloon was downed, the same official added.

Speaking to reporters in Hagerstown, Maryland, shortly after the balloon was shot down, Biden reiterated that he first approved the plan to do so earlier this week but waited to carry out the operation until the balloon was safely over water.

“On Wednesday, when I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible. They decided without doing damage to anyone on the ground,” the president said Saturday.

In his statement, Austin said American fighter aircraft “successfully brought down the high-altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in US airspace.”

Austin said Biden gave his authorization “as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path.”

The spy balloon was first spotted in the sky over Montana earlier this week and traveled across the middle of the country following weather patterns before it exited the continental United States on Saturday.

The discovery of the balloon prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone his highly anticipated diplomatic visit to China this week, saying the incident had “created the conditions that undermine the purpose of the trip.”

Risks posed
Biden has faced intense criticism from Republicans for allowing the balloon to continue drifting above the continental US for days.

Top military officials had advised against shooting down the balloon while over the continental US because of the risk the debris could pose to civilians and property on the ground, but officials had maintained that all options remained on the table.

Waiting to carry out the operation has allowed the US to “study and scrutinize” the balloon and its equipment, a senior Defense official said during a call with reporters following the operation but did not elaborate on when that occurred.

While US officials were able to learn more about the balloon, it was not the primary reason for delaying the shoot-down, the senior Defense official said, calling it an “added benefit” of the decision to wait until it was safely over water.

“We have learned technical things about this balloon and its surveillance capabilities. And I suspect, if we are successful in recovering aspects of the debris, we will learn even more,” the official added.

Prior to the balloon being shot down, the Federal Aviation Administration had issued a ground stop for airports in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Charleston and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. The FAA also restricted airspace near Myrtle Beach “to support the Defense Department in a national security effort.”

Advanced F-22 fighter jets from Langley Air Force Base in v*rg*nia then fired a single missile to take down the Chinese spy balloon at 2:39 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, said a senior US military official, who also briefed reporters Saturday.

The moment of impact could be seen from the shore as onlookers captured video of the military operation.

Earlier Saturday, Biden had told reporters in Syracuse, New York, that his administration was “gonna take care” of the suspected Chinese spy balloon when asked by CNN if the US would shoot it down. He had been discussing options with top military officials since first being briefed on the balloon on Tuesday.

On Friday, the Pentagon said the balloon did not pose a military or physical threat. A defense official told CNN that US Northern Command was coordinating with NASA to determine the debris field if the balloon was to be shot down.

China’s Foreign Ministry has said the balloon entered US airspace by accident. But the State Department has said the presence of the balloon in US airspace was “a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law, and it is unacceptable that this has occurred.”

Recovering debris
The military’s attention next turns to recovering the balloon debris. The US Navy and Coast Guard had assets on standby to assist with the recovery effort before the balloon was shot down, another Defense official told CNN prior to the operation.

“The debris is in 47 feet of water, primarily – the recovery, that will make it fairly easy,” the senior military official who briefed reporters Saturday said once the operation to shoot down the balloon was carried out.

“Actually, we planned for much deeper water. So as far as the specific timeline to recovery, I can’t give you that right now,” the senior official added.

There are plans for the balloon equipment to be taken to the FBI lab in Quantico, v*rg*nia, to be analyzed by experts from the bureau and intelligence agencies, two people briefed on the matter said.

Earlier Saturday, a senior Defense official said the Pentagon has launched “a collaborative effort” with the FBI and “counterintelligence authorities ” to assist with “categorizing and assessing the platform itself.”

edition.cnn.com/2023/02/04/politics/china-spy-balloon-us-latest

CNBC reported that US Federal Prosecutors have seized nearly $700 million in assets belonging to FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The information arrives from court documents filed on Friday, showing a seizure of over $697 million in cash and other assets.

The report notes that the assets were primarily the Robinhood Shares that were previously owned by Bankman-Fried. Those assets, whose ownership has been disputed for much of the past month, are now in the custody of the US government.

Of the seized assets, CNBC reports that three accounts were held at Silvergate Bank under the name of FTX Digital Markets. Subsequently, The report states that it held just over $6 million and was seized, “‘ on or about’ Jan. 11.”

Additionally, the report identifies nearly $50 million being held by Moonstone Bank. The United States financial institution maintains ties with FTX management and the contents of the account are assumed to have been seized by United States prosecutors within the same time frame.

FTX Digital Markets, the name of accounts held at Silvergate Banke, is also noted in the report as, “a Bahamian Subsidiary,” of the platform. Conversely, at the time of publication, there is no update as to what that means for the ongoing conflict between FTX’s American arm and Bahamian authorities. The entities have been embroiled in a highly publicized dispute for much of the platform’s bankruptcy proceedings.

The situation is evolving, and the specifics of the remaining seized assets are yet to be revealed. Thus far, only the accounts, and the Robinhood shares, have been shown from the court filings identifying the seizure made today.

watcher.guru/news/top-cryptocurrency-companies-that-went-bankrupt-in-2022-2023

Solana’s native token SOL erased most of Thursday’s 15% fall after Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin tweeted support for the blockchain most battered by FTX’s implosion.
SOL rebounded from Thursday’s low of $8.19 and retook the $9.50 range where it had been trading for much of the day. But the token is still 96% below all-time highs near $260, in part because of sellers dumping the “Sam coin” alleged fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried once loudly boosted.
“Some smart people tell me there is an earnest smart developer community in Solana, and now that the awful opportunistic money people have been washed out, the chain has a bright future,” Buterin tweeted shortly before SOL’s Thursday recovery began.
SOL has lost 20% in just one week. It is trading in the single digits for the first time since February 2021.
“Hard for me to tell from outside, but I hope the community gets its fair chance to thrive,” he said of Solana’s developers, who are building a decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem to rival Ethereum – the DeFi market leader.
Some on Crypto Twitter are pointing out that SOL’s 2021-2022 chart mimics the boom-bust pattern set by ETH in 2018 and 2019, when ETH fell 95% from its heights above $1,200. ETH weathered another boom-bust cycle and has settled in the $1,200 range again.

For SOL to recover it will likely have to shake off its association with Bankman-Fried, who invested heavily in SOL and supported Solana projects with FTX venture deals and market-making from Alameda Research. The twin companies’ implosions triggered an exodus of capital from Solana DeFi; and its trading protocols continue to suffer from insufficient liquidity.

Bankman-Fried’s impact on SOL is more than just bad PR, however. His companies bought over 58 million SOL tokens in aggregate – 15% of the current circulating supply. Though it's unclear how much SOL the now-bankrupt companies still control, the liquidation of those assets could further depress SOL’s market.

www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/12/30/solana-token-rebounds-off-thursday-lows-as-buterin-tweets-support/

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary’s Twitter account was hacked Thursday and used to promote a bitcoin and ethereum giveaway scam. The scammers claimed that Mr. Wonderful is giving away 5,000 bitcoin and 15,000 ether, and anyone can participate.

Kevin O’Leary’s ‘Fake’ Bitcoin and Ether Giveaways
The official Twitter account for Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, started promoting bitcoin and ethereum giveaways Thursday morning. The account tweeted claiming that O’Leary has made a lot of money from crypto over the last few years and he has decided to give away 5,000 bitcoin and 15,000 ether. The tweet also provides a link for anyone to join the cryptocurrency giveaway scam event.



The O’Leary Twitter account further claimed that it is not hacked and the giveaways are not a scam. It also falsely claimed that Mr. Wonderful said on CNBC last night that he will away some cryptocurrencies for real.

news.bitcoin.com/kevin-olearys-twitter-account-hacked-to-promote-bitcoin-ethereum-giveaway-scam/

LUSAIL, Qatar, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Argentina won their third World Cup in an extraordinary final on Sunday as they beat France 4-2 on penalties after Lionel Messi scored twice in a 3-3 draw and Kylian Mbappe grabbed a hat-trick to bring the holders back from 2-0 and 3-2 down.

It was an incredible night of drama, high emotion and fluctuating fortunes, delivering one of the all-time great finals to cap a wonderful tournament as its two star players delivered command performances on the biggest stage of all.

5 minute readDecember 19, 20221:38 AM GMT+1Last Updated 2 days ago
Argentina win incredible World Cup final in shootout
By Mitch Phillips
Summary
Argentina win World Cup for third time after 3-3 draw
Messi scores two and nets in shootout
Mbappe scores hat-trick as France come from 2-0 down
Second World Cup final penalties defeat for France after 2006
LUSAIL, Qatar, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Argentina won their third World Cup in an extraordinary final on Sunday as they beat France 4-2 on penalties after Lionel Messi scored twice in a 3-3 draw and Kylian Mbappe grabbed a hat-trick to bring the holders back from 2-0 and 3-2 down.

It was an incredible night of drama, high emotion and fluctuating fortunes, delivering one of the all-time great finals to cap a wonderful tournament as its two star players delivered command performances on the biggest stage of all.


Argentina had looked to be cruising to a one-sided victory after Messi's penalty and a brilliant goal by Angel Di Maria in the first half put them in total control but Mbappe converted an 80th-minute penalty and volleyed in a sublime equaliser a minute later to take the game to extra time.

Messi put Argentina ahead again but Mbappe levelled with another penalty, becoming the second man to score a World Cup final hat-trick after England's Geoff Hurst in 1966.

www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/argentina-win-incredible-final-penalties-2022-12-18/

Sam Bankman-Fried’s reported ex-girlfriend was likely among the first people to turn on him and help prosecutors build their fast-moving fraud case in the epic, $8 billion-plus collapse of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange, a former US government lawyer said Wednesday,

Caroline Ellison, 28, is a key figure in the case as she was at one time CEO of the Alameda Research hedge fund — which authorities claim received billions of dollars that Bankman-Fried, 30, diverted from FTX.

“She would have among the greatest incentives to cooperate, as it was seeming likely that in his effort to exculpate himself, Bankman-Fried would try to finger her,” former Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer Howard Fischer told The Post.

Fischer said “the speed of the indictment and the breadth of the charges” against Bankman-Fried meant “someone relatively senior is cooperating with the federal authorities in exchange for leniency for their own potential misconduct.”

“It is possible Bankman-Fried’s publicity tour, in which he repeatedly disclaimed either knowledge of — or responsibility for — mishandling or theft of customer assets, spurred senior officers to fear that he would specifically blame them,” he said.



“Often, the first to the table gets the most lenient treatment, so it is smart to turn before others have the chance to.”

Moira Penza, a former federal prosecutor from the Eastern District of New York, added that someone like Ellison would have a clear incentive to cooperate.

“For someone like Ellison who was in SBF’s inner circle and who has already publicly implicated herself, there is a strong incentive to cooperate early,” Penza told The Post in an email.

“It is not unheard of in [the Southern District of New York] for people who cooperate and who would otherwise be facing a decade or more in prison to instead be sentenced to time served,” she added.

Earlier this month, an unconfirmed sighting of Ellison in a Lower Manhattan coffee shop sparked speculation she was in the Big Apple to meet with law enforcement officials.

Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams revealed Tuesday some of Bankman-Fried’s alleged accomplices had flipped on him, saying: “To anyone who participated in wrongdoing at FTX or Alameda Research and who has not yet come forward, I would strongly encourage you to come see us before we come to you.”



But when asked who was cooperating in the ongoing probe, Williams said, “I’m not at liberty to say who’s come in.”

Bankman-Fried was arrested Monday in the Bahamas on an eight-count indictment accusing him of defrauding FTX customers and using Alameda funds to illegally make campaign contributions to both Democratic and Republican politicians.

The shaggy-haired onetime billionaire has vowed to fight extradition and is being held in a rat- and maggot-infested jail that a former warden has called “not fit for humanity.”

nypost.com/2022/12/14/sam-bankman-frieds-ex-caroline-ellison-likely-works-with-feds/

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been arrested in The Bahamas, the country's attorney general has said.

He is scheduled to appear on Tuesday in a magistrates' court in the Caribbean country's capital, Nassau.

Police said Mr Bankman-Fried, 30, was arrested for "financial offences" against laws in the US and The Bahamas.

Last month, FTX filed for bankruptcy in the US, leaving many users unable to withdraw their funds.

According to a court filing, FTX owed its 50 largest creditors almost $3.1bn (£2.5bn).

Among the most serious allegations against Mr Bankman-Fried is that he used billions of dollars of customer funds to prop up his investment trading company, Alameda.

It is unclear how much people who have funds in the exchange will get back at the end of bankruptcy proceedings - though many experts have warned it may be a small fraction of what they deposited.

Speaking to the BBC earlier this month, Mr Bankman-Fried acknowledged that mistakes were made at the firm, but sought to distance himself from accusations of illegal activity.

"I didn't knowingly commit fraud, I don't think I committed fraud, I didn't want any of this to happen. I was certainly not nearly as competent as I thought I was," he told the BBC.

He also denied allegations that he must have been aware that Alameda was using FTX customer funds.

"No that's not true," Mr Bankman-Fried said, while going on to acknowledge that as chief executive he was ultimately responsible for any mishandling of funds. "That's on me, one way or another," he said.

The FTX exchange allowed customers to trade normal money for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrencies are not currencies in the traditional sense, but are stored online and act more like investment vehicles or securities - often with a high degree of volatility.

Their anonymity means they have been favoured for criminal activities such as drug dealing and ransomware attacks, but their supporters say there is huge potential for innovation - and independence from governments.

Mr Bankman-Fried was once viewed as a young version of legendary US investor Warren Buffett, and as recently as late October had a net worth estimated at more than $15bn.

Before FTX's collapse he seemingly delighted in giving his Twitter followers an insight into his lifestyle, which involved playing League of Legends while on phone calls, even while attempting to woo investors, and sleeping on a beanbag next to his desk in the office.

He had become well known in Washington DC as a political donor, mostly to Democratic politicians or groups, supposedly supporting pandemic prevention and improved crypto regulation.

Mr Bankman-Fried will be held in custody "pursuant of our nation's Extradition Act," the Attorney General of the Bahamas said in a statement.

"Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the US Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY [Southern District of New York]. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time," the US Attorney's office in Manhattan said in a tweet.

Wall Street regulators also said that they would be taking action against Mr Bankman-Fried.

"We commend our law enforcement partners for working to secure the arrest of Mr Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas on federal criminal charges," US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official Gurbir Grewal said in a statement.

"The Securities and Exchange Commission has separately authorised charges relating to Mr. Bankman-Fried's violations of our securities laws, which will be filed publicly tomorrow in the Southern District of New York," he added.

Mr Bankman-Fried had been due to testify about the collapse of FTX before the US Congress on Tuesday.

However, he will now be unable to testify, according to Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who said in a statement that she was surprised to hear that he had been arrested.

Mr Bankman-Fried's lawyer did not immediately reply to a BBC request for comment.


www.bbc.com/news/business-63953096

A prominent football journalist from the United States has died while covering the World Cup in Qatar.

Grant Wahl, 48, collapsed as extra time began in the Argentina-Netherlands game on Friday night.

Early reports suggest he may have had a heart attack, but this has yet to be officially confirmed.

Last month Mr Wahl was briefly detained by Qatari authorities for trying to enter a stadium wearing a rainbow shirt, in support of LGBT rights.

In a statement, the US Soccer Federation said it was "heartbroken" by the news.

"Fans of soccer and journalism of the highest quality knew we could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists," it said.

In a tweet, Mr Wahl's wife, Céline Gounder, said she was in "complete shock", adding that she was "so thankful" for the support she had received from friends.

Mr Wahl celebrated his 48th birthday on Thursday with friends in Qatar, a day before he collapsed. He wrote on his website on Monday that he had been unwell in the last 10 days and was on a course of antibiotics for suspected bronchitis.

"My body finally broke down on me," he wrote. "What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort.

"I didn't have Covid (I test regularly here), but I went into the medical clinic and the main media center today, and they said I probably have bronchitis."

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Mr Wahl's love for football was "immense", adding that his reporting would be "missed by all who follow the global game".

Tributes have poured in from several UK journalists. Piers Morgan described Mr Wahl as a "brilliant journalist", while the Times' Henry Winter said he was a "fine man" and "giant of the press box".

BBC Sport's Dan Roan tweeted: "Grant Wahl was a renowned and hugely respected journalist and the flood of tributes is testament to the esteem in which he was held."

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber tweeted: "We are shocked, saddened and heartbroken over the tragic passing of Grant Wahl. He was a kind and caring person whose passion for soccer and dedication to journalism were immeasurable."

US tennis icon Billie Jean King also paid tribute to Mr Wahl, describing him as an "advocate for the LGBTQ community and a prominent voice for women's soccer".

A spokesperson for the Qatari body responsible for planning the World Cup, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, said: "We are deeply saddened by the death of the US journalist Grant Wahl.

"Grant was known for his enormous love of football and was in Qatar to cover his eighth Fifa World Cup.

"He fell ill in the Lusail Stadium media tribune, during last night's quarter-final match between Argentina v Netherlands. He received immediate emergency medical treatment on site, which continued as he was transferred by ambulance to Hamad General Hospital.

"We are in touch with the US Embassy and relevant local authorities to ensure the process of repatriating the body is in accordance with the family's wishes."

Earlier this week, Mr Wahl was presented with an award by Brazilian football legend Ronaldo for reporting on eight consecutive World Cups - his first was in the US in 1994.

www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63927054

Dominik Livakovic was Croatia’s penalty shoot-out hero once again as the 2018 finalists ended Brazil’s World Cup dream.

Neymar thought he had booked a place in the semifinals for the five-time winners, with a stunning extra-time effort illuminating the contest after a goalless 90 minutes.

But Zlaspam blocked by admino Dalic’s remarkable team produced a sting in the tail when substitute Bruno Pespam blocked by adminovic beat Alisson with a deflected strike in the 117th minute.

Croatia were then perfect from the spot, scoring four out of four. Livakovic saved from Rodrygo on Brazil’s first kick and Marquinhos rattled the post with their fourth, meaning his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar was left high and dry, waiting on a fifth penalty that never happened in a 4-2 defeat on spot kicks.

1H 2H ET Final
Brazil 0 0 1 1 (2)
Croatia 0 0 1 1 (4)
Goals:
BRA — Neymar (Pedro) — 105th min+1

CRO — Bruno Pespam blocked by adminovic (Mislav Orsic) — 117th min

CROATIA WON 4-2 ON PENALTIES

The winner of the Netherlands vs. Argentina awaits Luka Modric and his colleagues in the semifinals, with Brazil once again unseated by a European nation, following exits at the hands of France in 2006, the Dutch in 2010, Germany in 2014 and Belgium last time around.

Neymar ended the evening contemplating an exit from the biggest stage despite drawing level with the great Pele as Brazil’s all-time top scorer. He started it as a frustrated figure in a first half where the best chance fell Croatia’s way, with Josip Juranovic and Ivan Perisic just failing to get on the end of a teasing cross from surprise starter Mario Pasalic.

The winner of the Netherlands vs. Argentina awaits Luka Modric and his colleagues in the semifinals, with Brazil once again unseated by a European nation, following exits at the hands of France in 2006, the Dutch in 2010, Germany in 2014 and Belgium last time around.

Neymar ended the evening contemplating an exit from the biggest stage despite drawing level with the great Pele as Brazil’s all-time top scorer. He started it as a frustrated figure in a first half where the best chance fell Croatia’s way, with Josip Juranovic and Ivan Perisic just failing to get on the end of a teasing cross from surprise starter Mario Pasalic.

Brazil were often befuddled by a Modric-orchestrated midfield before assuming the ascendency during the second period.

That was when Livakovic, who excelled himself to see off Japan in the previous round, came to the fore. Twice he thwarted Neymar with his feet on the end of Richarlison throughballs and he also brilliantly denied Lucas Paqueta at close quarters.

It was going to need something special to beat Livakovic and Neymar duly obliged, completing a couple of one-twos to blast holes in the Croatia defence. The second return pass from substitute Pedro was overhit but Neymar simply sashayed around Livakovic and rammed into the roof of the net from an acute angle.

But Pespam blocked by adminovic, who put in an otherwise laboured cameo, produced a jaw-dropping twist before Nikola Vlasic, Lovro Majer, Modric and Orsic all held their nerve from 12 yards, reducing Neymar to a tearful bystander.''

Lineups:

Brazil (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Alisson (GK) — 14. Eder Militao, 4. Marquinhos, 3. Silva, 2. Danilo — 5. Casemiro, 7. Paqueta — 11. Raphinha, 10. Neymar, 20. Vinicius Jr — 9. Richarlison

Croatia lineup (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Livakovic (GK) — 22. Juranovic, 6. Lovren, 20. Gvardiol, 19. Sosa — 10. Modric, 11. Brozovic, 8. Kovacic — 9. Kramaric, 14. Pasalic, 4. Perisic.

Ron Wyden, chair for the United States Senate Finance Committee, has requested information from six crypto firms on consumer protection following FTX’s liquidity issues and bankruptcy.

In separate letters dated Nov. 28, Wyden targeted Binance, Coinbase, Bitfinex, Gemini, Kraken and KuCoin, requesting information on what protections the exchanges had in place if a failure like the one that happened at FTX occurred. The senator said that crypto users who had funds with FTX had “no such protections,” as those at banks or registered brokers under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

“As Congress considers much-needed regulations for the crypto industry, I will focus on the clear need for consumer protections along the lines of the assurances that have long existed for customers of banks, credit unions and securities brokers,” said Wyden. “If these protections had been in place before the failure of FTX, far fewer retail investors would be facing precipitous financial harm today.”

Wyden requested the six firms provide answers to questions including those on their subsidiary companies, safeguards of consumer assets, use of customer data, and guards against market manipulation by Dec. 12. The Senate Agriculture Committee has scheduled a hearing to explore the collapse of FTX on Dec. 1, and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse have called on the Justice Department to potentially prosecute individuals involved in wrongdoing at the exchange.

In the other chamber, the House Financial Services Committee will conduct a similar investigative hearing into FTX on Dec. 13. Both chair Maxine Waters and committee ranking member Patrick McHenry have supported the congressional action, with McHenry calling the events around the failed exchange a “dumpster fire.”

FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, currently underway in the District of Delaware, revealed the exchange could be accountable to more than 1 million creditors. The next hearing in the bankruptcy case has been scheduled for Dec. 16.

cointelegraph.com/news/us-lawmaker-questions-major-crypto-exchanges-on-consumer-protection-amid-ftx-collapse

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced on Nov. 30 that it has made one of its “hardest decisions” and is cutting down its global workforce by approximately 1,100 people, comprising approximately 30% of its total workforce, amid current market conditions.

According to CEO and co-founder Jesse Powell, Kraken had to triple its workforce due to the fast-growing crypto ecosystem, and the current pullback takes the size of the company’s team back to where it was 12 months ago. Powell shared in a tweet, "Macro was already tough and we held out but recent industry woes diminished near-term optimism about a crypto rebound."

Lower trading volumes and fewer client sign-ups amid turbulent market conditions have contributed to Kraken’s decision to cut down its expenses by slowing down hiring efforts and avoiding large marketing commitments.

According to the exchange, these changes are necessary “to sustain the business for the long-term while continuing to build world-class products and services in selective areas that add the most value for our clients.”

The company stated that employees being let go were given a decent severance package, which includes separation pay covering 16 weeks of base pay, performance bonuses, four months of healthcare coverage including counseling, immigration support and career support, among other benefits.

Earlier this year in June, Kraken announced that it would continue to hire over 500 roles in various departments amid a market downturn. The company's hiring efforts were at the time in stark contrast to major layoff announcements from major blockchain firms such as Coinbase and BlockFi.

In support of the decision to continue to expand its staff earlier in the year, Kraken had said:

“We have not adjusted our hiring plan, and we do not intend to make any layoffs. We have over 500 roles to fill during the remainder of the year and believe bear markets are fantastic at weeding out the applicants chasing hype from the true believers in our mission."
Current layoffs, however, show a contrasting picture from the CEO's statements made in June, when he took the opportunity to throw shots at supposed “woke activists" while discussing the company's decision to hire hundreds of new employees.


cointelegraph.com/news/kraken-cuts-workforce-by-30-in-an-effort-to-survive-crypto-winter

FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that operated around the world, collapsed as panicked traders pulled $6bn out of the company in just three days after a series of bombshell allegations.



A crypto entrepreneur says his net worth has fallen from more than $26bn to $100,000 after his company imploded.

Sam Bankman-Fried admitted it has been a "bad month" after FTX collapsed into bankruptcy, leaving thousands of people frozen out of their savings.

The 30-year-old, who once positioned himself as a saviour for stricken firms, has been accused of misusing customer funds and moving $10bn out of the company in secret.

At least $1bn is reported to have vanished.

Speaking at the New York Times' DealBook summit, Mr Bankman-Fried insisted that he has never tried to commit fraud and said he was "shocked" at how the crisis unfolded.

FTX has new management as it navigates bankruptcy, with its chief executive declaring that he had never seen "such a complete failure of corporate controls" during his 40-year career.

It has been claimed that funds belonging to FTX users were mixed with funds at Alameda Research, a trading firm that Mr Bankman-Fried also ran.

FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that operated around the world, collapsed as panicked traders pulled $6bn out of the company in three days after a series of bombshell allegations.

Speaking via video link from the Bahamas, Mr Bankman-Fried said he now has "close to nothing" after his company's failure and is down to one working credit card.


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He has admitted that his businesses "completely failed" when it came to risk management and said this was "pretty embarrassing in retrospect".

"Whatever happened, why it happened, I had a duty to our stakeholders, our customers, our investors, the regulators of the world, to do right by them," Mr Bankman-Fried added.

Although the embattled entrepreneur believes that American users should be able to get their money back in full, he has warned in other interviews that international customers may only get 20% to 25% of the money they had locked into FTX.

A number of companies in the cryptocurrency sector have collapsed in recent months, coinciding with a sharp drop in the value of Bitcoin.

Some businesses have been accused of offering interest rates on savings that were simply too good to be true, while others have been likened to "Ponzi schemes".

The Bahamas has now launched a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding FTX's demise.


news.sky.com/story/sam-bankman-fried-crypto-entrepreneurs-net-worth-has-fallen-from-25-6bn-to-100-000-after-his-firm-ftx-collapsed-12759113

FTX is scrambling to raise about $9.4 billion from investors and rivals, a source said on Thursday, as Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried urgently seeks to save the cryptocurrency exchange that has been buffeted by a rush of customer withdrawals.

Bankman-Fried has discussed raising $1 billion each from Justin Sun, the founder of crypto token Tron, rival exchange OKX and stablecoin platform Tether, according to the source who has direct knowledge of the matter.

5 minute readNovember 11, 20223:45 AM GMT+1Last Updated 6 hours ago
FTX looks for $9.4 bln in rescue funds, Bahamas freezes some assets
By Angus Berwick and Anirban Sen

Nov 10 (Reuters) - FTX is scrambling to raise about $9.4 billion from investors and rivals, a source said on Thursday, as Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried urgently seeks to save the cryptocurrency exchange that has been buffeted by a rush of customer withdrawals.

Bankman-Fried has discussed raising $1 billion each from Justin Sun, the founder of crypto token Tron, rival exchange OKX and stablecoin platform Tether, according to the source who has direct knowledge of the matter.

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He is seeking the remainder from other funds, including current investors in FTX such as venture capital fund Sequoia Capital, the source added.

It was not clear, however, whether Bankman-Fried will be able to raise the funds he needs and these investors would participate.

Tether's chief technology officer, Paolo Ardoino, tweeted that it had "no plans to invest in or lend assets to FTX."

One of the 30 to 40 investors in FTX's data room is Daniel Loeb's Third Point, but according to a source familiar with the matter the hedge fund is not discussing giving FTX more money.

FTX and Sequoia did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest news of talks. OKX also was not immediately available for comment on the latest news of talks. Earlier on Thursday, however, OKX told Reuters it had been approached this week by Bankman-Fried, who described liabilities of $7 billion that needed covering fast.

"That was too much for us," Lennix Lai, director of financial markets at OKX, told Reuters.

FTX also got hit by the Bahamas Securities Commission, where the company is based, freezing assets of FTX Digital Markets "and related parties". FTX Digital Markets Ltd is a subsidiary of FTX, licensed in the Bahamas.

"The Commission has proactively dealt with the situation and continues to do so," the commission said adding "the prudent course of action" was to put the unit into "provisional liquidation to preserve assets and stabilize the company".

FTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a tweet, FTX said it had reached a deal with Tron to establish a special facility that would allow clients to swap some crypto assets from FTX to external wallets. It said initially $13 million of assets will be deployed to facilitate the swaps.

A spokesperson for Tron said this was the "first step for us" but "we are open to talks about other rescue plans" and that the conversation was ongoing. A credit line was "no doubt one of the topics" but the spokesperson said it had not been discussed in detail.

Earlier in the day, Bankman-Fried said in tweets and a memo to employees seen by Reuters that he was in talks with "a number of players" in the crypto sector, including Sun, after a potential rescue deal with larger rival Binance fell apart.

But he added that he did not want to "imply anything about the odds of success."

Bankman-Fried also said his trading firm Alameda Research, which sources have said was partly behind FTX's problems, was winding down trading.

FTX's predicament marks a stunning downfall for the 30-year-old crypto executive who was once worth nearly $17 billion, but in a matter of days transformed from his status of industry savior to the one who needed saving.

The problems at FTX, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, have triggered a broader crisis of confidence in cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin falling below $16,000 overnight for the first time since late 2020.

However, a surge in the broader market after better than expected U.S. inflation data buoyed cryptocurrencies. FTX's native token, FTT , was up nearly 140% at $3.83 in afternoon trading but down more than 80% for the week. Bitcoin was up 13%.

Trading volumes in bitcoin futures and exchange traded funds have exploded amid the turmoil.

FTX said it was not able to process any withdrawals, except some in the Bahamas because of regulations there. Bankman-Fried said FTX.US, the U.S. operations of the exchange, had not been financially impacted.

RAISING FUNDS
The seeds of FTX's downfall were sown months earlier, in mistakes made by Bankman-Fried after he stepped in to save other crypto firms, sources have said. Sources told Reuters that FTX transferred at least $4 billion to Alameda, including some customer deposits, to prop up the trading firm after a series of losses.

Bankman-Fried told investors that Alameda owes FTX about $10 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. FTX had lent more than half of its customer funds to Alameda, the newspaper said.

The U.S. securities regulator is investigating FTX.com's handling of customer funds and crypto-lending activities, according to a source with knowledge of the inquiry.

Reuters could not learn what specific activities were the focus of the probe. Meanwhile the White House said the developments show why "prudent regulation" is needed.

Users rushed to withdraw $6 billion in crypto tokens from FTX within days, after a news report earlier this month raised questions about Alameda's balance sheet and Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao tweeted that his firm would sell its entire share in FTT, which gives holders discounts on FTX trading fees. The outflow caused a liquidity crunch at FTX.

www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/crypto-markets-teeter-with-ftx-after-binance-abandons-bailout-2022-11-10/

In one of his first public statements since rumors and concerns about FTX’s insolvency flooded the crypto market, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF, has said: “I’m sorry.”

In a Nov. 10 Twitter thread, SBF admitted to investors he “should have done better” in providing transparency on the situation with FTX. The CEO reported that the exchange was experiencing a “liquidity crunch” caused by user withdrawals and requested financial assistance from Binance — a potential deal that later fell apart.

According to SBF, the exchange saw roughly $5 billion in withdrawals on Nov. 6. The total market value of FTX International’s assets was higher than its clients’ deposits, but “the liquidity varies widely, from very to very little.”

“The full story here is one I’m still fleshing out every detail of, but as a very high level, I f**ked up twice,” said SBF. “The first time, a poor internal labeling of bank-related accounts meant that I was substantially off on my sense of users’ margin. I thought it was way lower.”

The FTX CEO added:

“I should have said more. I’m sorry — I was slammed with things to do and didn’t give updates to you all.”
1) I'm sorry. That's the biggest thing.

I f**ked up, and should have done better.

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 10, 2022
While the deal with Binance may be dead, SBF said FTX was discussing similar options with “a number of players” in the crypto space, with “every penny” coming from a potential deal going to the exchange’s affected users. According to the CEO, Alameda Research was also “winding down trading” but United States-based exchange FTX US “was not financially impacted” by recent events.

“At some point I might have more to say about a particular sparring partner, so to speak. But you know, glass houses. So for now, all I’ll say is: well played; you won.”
Related: FTX and Binance’s ongoing saga: Everything that’s happened until now

Some of the events surrounding FTX’s liquidity crisis began in the last seven days, with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao saying on Nov. 6 the exchange would liquidate its FTX Token


holdings. Many FTX users attempted to withdraw funds, prompting SBF to tweet on Nov. 7 that the exchange and its assets were “fine,” labeling liquidity concerns as “false rumors.” The FTX CEO put out a seemingly contradictory statement the following day, saying the exchange was facing a “liquidity crunch” and was in talks to sell to Binance.

FTX Ventures and Alameda Research’s websites both went down within 24 hours of SBF’s public statement, Binance said it no longer planned to acquire FTX, and the crypto market experienced extreme volatility with a major exchange potentially going kaput. The FTX website came back online on Nov. 9, but with the main page warning that it “strongly advise[s] against depositing.”

cointelegraph.com/news/sam-bankman-fried-apologizes-over-ftx-liquidity-crisis-i-f**ked-up-twice

Binance released a list of its cold wallets and reserves a day after backing out of a deal to buy troubled crypto exchange FTX.
The crypto exchange says its holds around 475,000 bitcoin (US$7.8 billion), 4.8 million ether ($5.57 billion), 17.6 billion USDT ($17.4 billion), 601 million USDC ($607 million), as well as close to 21.7 billion of its own stablecoin BUSD (worth $21.9 billion) and 58 million of its BNB tokens (worth $16 billion).
In total, the reserves listed had a total market value of around $69 billion, based on current market prices.

Binance also said that it will share its Merkle tree proof-of-funds in the coming weeks.
Using Merkle trees allows exchanges to store each user account’s hash value of assets in the “leaf nodes” of the Merkle tree. The second step is to audit those assets in the leaf node of the Merkle tree and verify all the users’ holdings by a third party.

www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/10/binance-releases-wallet-addresses-of-69b-crypto-reserve/

Facebook parent company Meta on Wednesday said it is laying off 11,000 employees, marking the most significant job cuts in the tech giant’s history.

The job cuts come as Meta confronts a range of challenges to its core business and makes an uncertain and costly bet on pivoting to the metaverse. It also comes amid a spate of layoffs at other tech firms in recent months as the high-flying sector reacts to high inflation, rising interest rates and fears of a looming recession.

“Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post to employees. “I’ve decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go.”

The job cuts will impact many corners of the company, but Meta’s recruiting team will be hit particularly hard as “we’re planning to hire fewer people next year,” Zuckerberg said in the post. He added that a hiring freeze would be extended until the first quarter, with few exceptions.

In September, Meta had a headcount of more than 87,000, per a September SEC filing.

Meta’s core ad sales business has been hit by privacy changes implemented by Apple, advertisers tightening budgets and heightened competition from newer rivals like TikTok. Meanwhile, Meta has been spending billions to build a future version of the internet, dubbed the metaverse, that likely remains years away from widespread acceptance.


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Last month, the company posted its second quarterly revenue decline and said that its profit was cut in half from the prior year. Once valued at more than $1 trillion last year, Meta’s market value has since plunged to around $250 billion.

“I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here,” Zuckerberg wrote in his post Wednesday. “I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted.”

Meta is not alone in feeling the pain of a market downturn. The tech sector has been facing a dizzying reality check as inflation, rising interest rates and more macroeconomic headwinds have led to a stunning shift in spending for an industry that only grew more dominant as consumers shifted more of their lives online during the pandemic.

“At the start of Covid, the world rapidly moved online and the surge of e-commerce led to outsized revenue growth,” Zuckerberg wrote Wednesday. “Many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended. I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments. Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected.”

“I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that,” he added.

Meta’s headcount in September was nearly twice the 48,268 staffers it had at the start of the pandemic in March of 2020.

A handful of tech companies have announced hiring freezes or job cuts in recent months, often after having seen rapid growth during the pandemic. Last week, rideshare company Lyft said it was axing 13% of employees, and payment-processing firm Stripe said it was cutting 14% of its staff. The same day, e-commerce giant Amazon said it was implementing a pause on corporate hiring.

Also last week, Facebook-rival Twitter announced mass layoffs impacting roles across the company as its new owner, Elon Musk, took the helm.

In addition to the layoffs, Zuckerberg said the company expects to “roll out more cost-cutting changes” in the coming months. Meta, which like other tech giants is known for its vast, perk-filled offices, is rethinking its real estate needs, he said, and “transitioning to desk sharing for people who already spend most of their time outside the office.”

“Overall,” he said, “this will add up to a meaningful cultural shift in how we operate.”

edition.cnn.com/2022/11/09/tech/meta-facebook-layoffs/index.html

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (L); FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. (Images via Binance/FTX)


Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced on Tuesday that his company has tentatively agreed to acquire competitor Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX for an undisclosed amount.

The deal does not include FTX US or Binance US, the separate U.S. operations of the respective cryptocurrency exchanges, Bankman-Fried said on Twitter.

"There is a lot to cover and will take some time. This is a highly dynamic situation, and we are assessing the situation in real time," Zhao wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning. "Binance has the discretion to pull out from the deal at any time. We expect FTT to be highly volatile in the coming days as things develop."

The FTT token, which had slumped as low as $14.57 on Tuesday morning on rumors that FTX had suspended withdrawals, briefly rebounded on the news. The token gives FTX users discounts on their trading feeds and referral commissions. Meanwhile Binance Coin (BNB), FTT’s counterpart on Binance’s exchange, shot up 10% to $368.07 on the news of the pending deal.

If the deal proceeds, it will combine two of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. As of Tuesday morning, Binance and FTX combined for $34 billion in trading volume—one quarter of all trades on centralized exchanges, according to data from CoinGecko.

Both Zhao and Bankman-Fried said that their respective teams will be conducting due diligence on the deal.

Bankman-Fried confirmed the agreement in his own thread on Twitter, saying that the two exchanges had agreed to a "strategic transaction." He also addressed a withdrawal backlog, which appeared to be behind reports that the exchange had suspended withdrawals on Tuesday morning.

"Our teams are working on clearing out the withdrawal backlog as is. This will clear out liquidity crunches; all assets will be covered 1:1," Bankman-Fried wrote. "This is one of the main reasons we’ve asked Binance to come in. It may take a bit to settle etc.—we apologize for that."

Although both Zhao and Bankman-Fried have maintained that they weren’t sparring with one another, things have seemed contentious since the weekend.

How did we get here?
The groundwork for all of this was laid years ago. Binance was an early investor in FTX in 2019. Last July, Binance was facing increased pressure from regulators, and FTX bought out Binance’s shares. “I think there are some differences between how we run our businesses,” Bankman-Fried told Decrypt at the time.

“We try really hard to be as cooperative as we can with regulators," he continued. "When you sort of appear less flexible or responsive, I think that’s more likely to lead to cases where regulators might feel like they have no choice but to start bringing the hammer.”

While the FTX CEO didn’t outright say it, the clear implication was a critique of Binance's adversarial approach to regulation. FTX paid out Binance in FTT tokens.

The two exchanges continued to compete, both expanding their international reach throughthe May crypto crash. As recently as September, Binance and FTX were the two leading contenders in securing the assets of failed exchange Voyager, with Bankman-Fried saying he had $1 billion to spend on bailing out failing crypto firms—meanwhile declaring that the worst of the crypto crisis had passed.

Voyager rebuffed FTX, calling its overture “a low-ball bid dressed up as a white knight rescue.” But FTX eventually prevailed, paying $1.4 billion.

In October, Binance made headlines in supporting Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter. Meanwhile, it was Bankman-Fried’s turn in the regulatory crosshairs, with Texas officials investigating allegations of securities violations.

The final turn
Zhao suddenly announced on Twitter on Sunday that Binance would liquidate all of its FTT tokens, one day after on-chain data showed that Binance had already moved $584 million worth of its FTT on Saturday. The impact of the announcement was swift. In 24 hours, $1.2 billion worth of Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens was withdrawn from FTX, according to blockchain data firm Nansen.

There’s been a $377 million decrease in stablecoin balances on FTX over the past two days, according to Nansen. That includes the USD Coin (USDC) balance on the exchange dropping from $164 million at the end of last week to $30 million on Tuesday, and its Tether (USDT) balance dropping from $140 million to $32 million over the same period.

decrypt.co/113866/battle-crypto-titans-ends-binance-acquires-ftx

Biden attended a fundraising event in Chicago for the upcoming elections and called out Elon Musk for purchasing Twitter.


The relevance of social media platforms in swaying global politics was first highlighted with the rise of Facebook (later rebranded Meta), which was accused of manipulating information based on user demographics. Twitter, which was recently acquired by Elon Musk, got the short end of the stick as United States President Joe Biden accused the website of spewing lies.

Biden attended a fundraising event in Chicago for the upcoming elections and called out Elon Musk for purchasing Twitter. He stated:

“Now what are we all worried about? Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that sends and spews lies all across the world.”
While the Biden administration has previously clarified its stance to promote the suppression of hate speech and misinformation on social media platforms, the president highlighted the lack of supervision on Twitter, adding:

“There’s no editors anymore. There’s no editors. How do we expect kids to be able to understand what is at stake.”
Ever since Bitcoin
BTC

tickers down
$21,375

launched in 2009, the crypto community has chosen Twitter as its home for discussing various nuances and attaining consensus on the decisions made. Musk’s $44 billion Twitter acquisition came with a promise of free speech. However, with the increase in hate speech, numerous advertisers have backed out from doing business with Twitter over content moderation concerns.

Musk’s immediate course of action for Twitter includes imposing an $8-per-month fee for users who wish to retain their account verification.

Related: Elon Musk faces class-action suit over mass Twitter layoffs

Supporting Musk’s Twitter acquisition drive, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of crypto exchange Binance, chipped in $500 million using fiat currency.

Binance has laid out plans to form a team to support Twitter’s blockchain efforts, however an official statement is currently being awaited.

cointelegraph.com/news/joe-biden-unhappy-with-elon-musk-for-buying-a-platform-that-spews-lies

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has explained the reasoning behind its $500 million co-investment into Elon Musk’s Twitter, citing monetization potential, crypto community free speech and the opportunity to eventually “help bring Twitter into Web3.”

CZ’s comments came from an Oct. 31 CNBC Squawk Box segment, where he explained what drove his co-investment with Elon Musk to acquire the social media platform noting:

“I believe Twitter has not been monetized well, it has not grown well, there’s many tactical problems like bots that spam my comments, there’s scammer accounts on there, it’s not been run well.”
“But I think the platform has huge value in itself, and especially now with Elon at the helm, we’re very confident,” he added.

Binance has not wavered in its support for Musk’s acquisition of Twitter since it first announced its support in May 2022. Other co-investors include Sequoia Capital Fund, Fidelity Management and Research Company.

The Binance CEO said Twitter’s difficult price valuation didn’t impact its investment decision as they considered the long-term prospects to be strong while giving crypto a “seat at the table” when it comes to free speech:

“We’re long-term investors, we believe in strong entrepreneurs, we believe in strong platforms, we believe in free speech [...] we look at this from a 10, 20, 50, 100-year basis, so a little price fluctuation on a monthly basis doesn't bother us.”
However, decisions as to what Twitter accounts are re-activated won’t lie in the hands of Musk, who said that a new “content moderation council” will bear the duty to determine what banned user accounts are restored.

However, the billionaire entrepreneur confirmed in a tweet that the council will exercise its discretion with “widely diverse viewpoints.”

CZ says it invested as it also hopes to play a part in Twitter’s eventual transition to Web3, such as adding cryptocurrency-based payments onto the social media platform:

“We want to help solve those immediate problems like charging for memberships [....] that can be done very easily by using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.”
According to a Reuters report on Oct. 28, the crypto exchange plans to create a dedicated team to work on potential crypto and blockchain-based solutions for Twitter.

The new team will explore how to build on-chain solutions to address issues such as spam bot accounts.

Related: Twitter’s top brass gutted as Elon Musk’s takeover begins

Binance’s $500 million investment into Twitter makes them the fourth-largest shareholder in the social media platform among 19 investors.

Twitter is also no longer a publicly-traded company, having been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 28, following Musk’s decision to take the company private.

cointelegraph.com/news/twitter-monetization-and-free-speech-drove-binance-s-500m-injection-cz